Feel Good Fashion: Slumlove Sweater Company

When I first heard about Slumlove Sweater Company, I was immediately impressed by founder Ava Darnell’s fearlessness when it came to starting a company in the ultra-competitive fashion industry. But fortune favors the bold. Through a mutual friend I was able to meet Ava and learn more about her brand. Ava launched Slumlove with the idea that the clothes we wear should not only look great; but also do some good in the world. All the pieces in her collection are made by employees in Kenya – earning a fair wage in a healthy working environment. And a portion of each sale goes to a non-profit that provides scholarships for kids living in the worst slums to provide them more opportunities and a brighter future. All of which we can all feel good about.

If you visit Slumlove’s website, you may just see a familiar face – I had the honor of modeling the new fall collection and I couldn’t have been more exciting and willing to do so. The entire line fills my little minimalist heart with joy. The simplistic, casual-cool designs make for perfect capsule wardrobe essentials.

I didn’t want the style series of the #TakeCareChallenge to be all about just fashion, clothes or material things because that’s not what it’s all about. But that’s why it was so easy for me to partner up with Slumlove. It transcends the often unethical and greedy fashion industry standards. Ava’s company and products empower her customers to invest not only in their personal style and comfort, but make a meaningful investment in people around the world. And that’s pretty major. For so many years I didn’t think twice about where my clothes came from, how the material was sourced or who was producing them. I was totally naive. But ever since I was made aware of the extent of human exploitation and the endless ethical issues surrounding clothing manufacturing all around the world – I definitely take that into way more consideration when I’m making purchasing decisions. I’m by no means a perfect, ethical consumer and I probably won’t ever be, but I think even the tiniest changes in our purchasing decisions can make a positive impact.

The main purpose of the challenge is to be a bit selfish this month and focus more on taking care of all aspects of on ourselves: But, I think it’s pretty safe to say this is one time we can make an exception to the rules. (and truthfully, there was never really rules to begin with) I’ve been so excited to share this brand with you and even more pumped when Ava graciously offered a $100 gift card for me to giveaway with the rest of our style series partners. My only ask for whoever wins is that they share their new Slumlove sweater’s story with as many of their friends as they can!